Ria Formosa: Just outside Casa Flor de Sal is the Ria Formosa Nature Reserve, an area of 18,400 hectares of tidal marshes and lagoons protected by a spectacular 60 km long system of sand dune islands (Barreta, Culatra, Armona and Tavira) and the peninsulas of Anção to the west and Cacela to the east.

The Ria Formosa Reserve was created in 1978 and is protected by UNESCO since 1987. It is also included in the prestigious Ramsar Convention for protection of wetlands and it has been declared an Important Bird Area (IBA).

This nature reserve is of particular importance to bird life, with more than 200 species using the park as a breeding ground, a wintering ground for birds from northern Europe or as a resting station for birds migrating between Africa and Europe.

Ria Formosa also has 50 species of fish (including sea horses), 11 amphibians, 15 reptiles (woodland lizards, geckos, chameleons), 300 species of molluscs with many varieties of shellfish (cockles, mussels, oysters) and insects (butterflies, bees, dragoonflies).

The flora varies from the sandy zones (armenias, sea thistles, sand cactuses) to the marshes where the existence of some species depends on their resistance to submersion by seawater; all of them have to get by with very little fresh water during the summer. Of this immense variety, the Algarve limonium, which constitutes a local endemic species, is particularly important.

You will probably get the best view of Ria Formosa when your plane prepares to land at Faro airport. From the air, it is a stunning patchwork of green islets, blue lagoons and white beaches. The beaches are fantastic both for bathers in the long summers and for walkers in the winter. The salt marshes and tidal flats will thrill bird watchers. For nature lovers, artists, photographers and those curious about local life, the park has much to offer.

You can visit Ria Formosa Nature Reserve simply by going for walks, bike rides or swimming outside Casa Flor de Sal. Otherwise you can have very good views of the Reserve by going on organised boat trips, ferry trips or taxi boats to the islands.